Neverland
by HaloHunter89
Summary: She didn't need a lot of light to tell her though that this isn't Ed."Are you hurt?" He said. Isn't that funny? She's been hurt in some way since she'd been born."No." Sophia croaks.
1. Chapter 1

**Tumblr prompt. This spiraled...I have more chapters. I wanted this to be a short one shot but that didn't work out. o.O**

Hours or days? It'd been hours since she seen that stream though and she was sure she'd walked by that tree four times already. The sun was getting low and it was getting colder than she thought it would have. Still she would rather be lost than be home. She could learn what to eat and what not to….find a stream. Live in the wild like a the fairies. She'd joked once with her mom when she'd been reading about Tinkerbell.

A snap of a twig has Sophia pausing. Her heart is racing so fast that she sure she'll die before he can grab her. There is no other option. It has to be Ed. He always got mad when she ran. It only made her run faster but she'd gotten tired this time and he's found her. Sophia feels tears spill over and she hiccups a sob before crumpling to the ground. Curling into a ball, something she's learned will make her a smaller target, she hides herself away among leaves.

There's the sound of someone approaching no longer trying to be quiet and her chest heaves. When boots appear in her line of vision her entire body tenses and she starts shaking. Maybe this time will be the time she dies. It'd be easier. Anything is easier than knowing your own parent wished you dead. Maybe he'd even stop beating her mom now. He'd never wanted a daughter and it was Sophia's fault because he wanted a son. The person in front of her as bent down and she hears them clear their throat. She scrunches her eyes closed but it just forces more tears out.

"Make it quick." Sophia mutters.

"What the-"

His voice is gruff and so different than what she was expecting. It's enough to make her open her eyes. Sophia peers up at the man that's bent right next to her looking down. He's shading the last of the sun and casting himself in shadows. She didn't need a lot of light to tell her though that this isn't Ed.

"Are you hurt?"

Isn't that funny? She's been hurt in some way since she'd been born.

"No." Sophia croaks.

He's shrugging out of a jacket and hands it to her. Sophia hesitates but she really is freezing. She takes it and sets up pulling it on. The warmth is immediate and her eyes burn again.

He stands and looks around them before shouldering what she now realizes is some kind of bow. He looks back down at her and Sophia stands. He picks a pack up from the ground and opens it. He pulls out a water bottle and offers it to her. Sophia looks at it and then at him.

"Listen kid I'm not going to hurt you." He says. "How long you been lost out here?"

"I don't know."

It's the truth though because as she'd run everything was a blur. Even after the stitch in her side turned into a searing burning pain she kept going. The sun though she was sure it'd set once but everything was a haze.

"Where you from kid?"

"Sophia." She takes the water and offers her hand in return.

He looks at it for a minute and then shakes it. Rough. His hands are rough but for the first time she finds that she isn't scared. That feeling of fatigue is there but it's lighter. Whoever this person is calming.

"Daryl." He tilts his head. "Where you from- I need to get you home."

"Neverland." Sophia whispers

He looks at her and for the first time the sun catches his face. She's sure she's seen this man before.

"You don't look like one of the lost boys." He retorts with a half smile.

"Nope, I'm Tinkerbell." She quips.

It's startling how easy it is to be around him. He's walking and Sophia rushes to keep up with him. She doesn't question where they're going. It's stupid because her mother always told her to never trust strangers. But she she can't even trust her own dad so that advice is moot point.

When they break through the trees into a open area Sophia can see a house just a bit away. He looks back to see where she is and Sophia raises her bottle at him still drinking. It isn't Neverland but there's something about it here that seems otherworldly to her. It's beautiful. Trees circle the entire area and the house is the type you dream of but know you'll never have. The dark logs not taking away from the warmth she can see glowing through the windows. The driveway just barely peeks out from between two massive pine trees.

Daryl's up the porch and she watches as an old dog raises it's head lazily. Sophia bounces up the steps and reaches a hand out. His face is saggy and his ears are brushing the porch. He sniffs her and his tail thumps on the porch loudly.

"You hungry?"

Sophia looks up and she feels a foreign smile on her face. It'd been so long since she smiled.

"Starving."

He nods and disappears inside. She can hear him moving around but she's scratching over the dog's back and can hear a clink. His collar has tags hanging off them and she catches them. She stares at the odd name and shrugs.

"Well Pete you want to be friends?"

He barks loudly in her face and Sophia laughs. She's got his head in her lap now when Daryl comes back out. He hands her a plate and whistles. Pete gets up and flops at Daryl's feet.

"What kind of dog is he?"

"Blood Hound."

Sophia takes a bite of the sandwich he'd brought her. It's tentative and she's not sure she wants to tell him where she lives. He'll take her back there and this isn't something she wants. If she goes home Ed's going to hurt her. If not her then he will her mom. She's seen her mom take a beating for her to many times and it breaks her heart. If Ed just hurts her then he'll leave her mom alone but sometimes the way Ed looks at her scares her worse than his belt. It's those times when her mom fights him back and that terrifies her.

"Sophia what's your last name?" Daryl questions.

"Peletier."

She can see the recognition in his eyes and swallows thickly. He nods to her food and Sophia starts eating again feeling just how hungry she really was. Daryl's got keys in his hands and Sophia is starting to sweat with the knowledge he knows where she lives. He has too. He'd looked familiar to her and now she knows he knows atleast one of her parents.

"It's quiet here."

Daryl looks over at her and leans back further in his chair kicking his boots up. "That's why I bought it."

When she finishes he stands and takes her plate inside. When he comes back out he has another water for her and Sophia greedily drinks it. He chuckles and leads her to a truck. She's shaking and Sophia wants to beg him not to take her there.

The drive she finds isn't that long. Her house isn't really in town but it's not quite where Daryl's is either. Still it's a shorter drive than her walk through the woods.

When they pull up to the house Ed's car is there. Sophia feels her eyes already burning. She's shaking as he parks and her grip is white knuckled on his jacket. She knows he sees this all but it's too late. Her mom's already opened the front door with her hand raised trying to see through the dark to who has parked.

Daryl opens his door and Sophia hears the distressed noise escape her own throat. He spins looking at her.

"I..." Her words are strained and when she meets his eyes something she'd never seen before in anyone beside her mom is there. Understanding.

"Daryl?" Her mom's voice is surprised.

It's enough to get Sophia moving. She needs to know she's okay. Has to see her.

She crawls across the seat and is out the door on the driver side. She collides with Daryl both stumble but he catches her before she can fall. Her eyes meet her moms and Sophia slams into her. She can hear a pained gasp and a sob rips from her throat.

"How?" Her mom chokes out.

"Found her in the woods." Daryl said. Voice uncomfortable.

"She's been missing two days."

Two days. It was the best two days though until today. That short span of time she was at Daryl's was better. All the calm she'd felt there is gone and replaced with that crushing fear. Sophia looks across the road to the woods she's ran into last time. Even with the dark of night over them she'd choose them. Instead she looks at Daryl and he gives her a real smile. He nods to her and tells her mom goodbye. Something about his voice tells Sophia he really doesn't want to say goodbye to either of them. Spinning around she lets her mom go and instead grabs ahold of him. Her arms around his waist and her face buried in his chest. She knows her hug is too tight, clingy even, but it don't matter because his arm comes around her and for the first time in her life Sophia isn't scared of a man.


	2. Chapter 2

The week that follows her disappearance is one of the worst of her life. Her eyes stray to the woods more and more. Running seems easy when staying just means you're going to get hurt. Ed hadn't got his hands on her yet but she knew that he would. He'd taken the week off. She heard him tell his boss that his daughter been found and he wanted to spend time with his family. It was a life. Family wasn't supposed to hurt you.

"Sophia, please eat."

Looking into her mom's blue eyes is painful. "I'm not hungry."

It was getting increasingly hard to just function like she knew people expected. She slept a lot and hid in her room but it only worked so much. There was still a monster. It was the stupid things kids told themselves about the boogeyman and the monster under your bed. This one didn't breathe fire or any of that nonsense. This one was very real and her time was running out. The only thing stopping her from running isn't she doesn't want to sleep in the woods. It's been raining and she knows she will get sick. Her mind keeps going back to Daryl's. She isn't sure she could find her way there without walking the road and that isn't an option. Ed would find her to quick and the thought of him catching her alone makes her blood turn to ice.

The door slams open causing both Carol and Sophia to flinch. Her mom moves to the doorway of the kitchen and looks out. She can hear Ed and he's drunk. The slurring of his words and the anger are thick.

"Ed." Carol greets.

"Where's that useless brat."

"We can do this in the morning Ed." Carol urges.

"NO." He barks.

Sophia stands and eyes the side door. Her mom looks back at her as she inches her way towards it. There isn't a warning look of stay but instead her mom seems to be urging her to _go_. She knows why Ed wants to hurt her. He hates her and that alone is enough for her. When he seen she was back he'd asked questions and Sophia refused to answer. he didn't like that. He'd been watching her every since and it wasn't just the watching. It was how he was _looking_ at her.

"I should have known any bitch that was born from you would cause trouble. Best to stomp that out before it gets worse."

Sophia meets her mom's eyes quickly before opening the door. She doesn't even shut it before she's running. The slap of her feet against wet blacktop is loud in her ears. Like gunshots and pain. It doesn't stop her though as her breath rushes from her and her eyes swim. Her body's moving with a mind of it's own and she burst through the trees. She runs and runs wanting as far from the house as possible. When she comes to a stop she's at the only landmark she really knows.

The stream is bubbling and Sophia bends gathering water in her hands. Drinking greedily she looks around herself. Her eyes catch on something and she stands water forgotten. Stepping lightly she tugs at the bright ribbons tied to the tree. When her fingers run over she realizes it isn't really a ribbon but feels more like a type of plastic but that isn't right either. This wasn't here before. She knows because if it had she would have seen it. She's ran into these woods dozens of times and never seen this.

Looking around her eyes find another. She looks behind her and decides against staying close by. That wasn't her home. It wasn't her mothers either but her mother never would run with her. One day maybe. There was something in her moms eyes that told her there was more to the story with Ed. Her mom hid but she knew that Ed hurt her more than she ever let on just over Sophia. It was like there was a storm already raging around them but it was growing in intensity. It was just getting stronger and eventually it was going to tear the roof off.

Ribbon after ribbon she's finding and it isn't long before she steps out of the woods. Sunlight dapples through the leaves around her and sprinkle across the ground. She can hear the river close by but it's not so loud that it takes away from the peacefulness of this place. Trees barely dot the landscape where it's been cleared but enough so that it is mostly shaded. She hadn't noticed all that the other night but then she'd been distraught and weary. A loud baleful bark thunders around the clearing and Sophia pauses. Pete is rushing towards her and she almost wants to laugh at the way his ears are swinging and his face sags. When he's closer to her the bark stops immediately and his tail is swinging rapidly as he trots forward.

The slap of a screen door has her looking up. Daryl's there arms crossed over his chest and regarding her. Sophia catching her hand on Pete's back and strokes lightly to see if Daryl will tell her to leave. Instead he inclines his head and Sophia walks forward with Pete nudging her along the way. Rain pelts her as she goes but she no longer cares for it's icy sting. Just knowing he won't turn her away is like a cup of warm hot chocolate and that is all she can ask for.

"Did you leave them for me?" It's out of her mouth before she can stop it.

Daryl gives her a look that tells her to stop asking the obvious.

"How do you know my mom?"

All expression is gone from his face and he clears his throat as she steps on to the porch. She won't rest until she knows. Every since her mom seen Daryl she's been almost restless. She wasn't even worried that Sophia was alone with him. That alone got Sophia's attention. Her mother had a strong dislike and mistrust of men. Sophia was never left in their care, ever. She'd seen her mom react harshly to strangers speaking to her in stores and the county fair. Yet Daryl was different and she wanted to know why.

"We went to school together."

Sophia nods and he opens the door walking inside. Sophia doesn't wait for an invitation walking inside. Pete follows and she watches him sprawl in front of the fireplace. She follows the sounds to her right and finds Daryl. He's tense and seems to be debating with himself. She looks down at her feet and scrunches her bare toes against his hardwood flooring. Her feet are muddy and have leaves with pine needles clinging to them. If she came home like this Ed would have backhanded her mother before it escalated and Sophia was running again. Daryl though she doesn't know what he'll do. So she waits. When he looks over she looks to her feet and back at him. He gives her a rueful smile and motions her forward. Sophia can't help the smile that comes across her face as she walks into the kitchen with him.

"Do you know Ed?"

He sneers but the looks is gone quickly. "Yes."

"Did you go to school with him too?"

"No."

Sophia stares at him and then shrugs. "Probably better for it. He seems stupid."

Daryl barks a laugh and looks at her. Sophia smiles back and eyes the kitchen. It's larger than the one at her house and she climbs up onto the stool. He's drinking coffee and watching out the window that's above the sink. The storm isn't letting up and she's worried that her mom is still in that house. She never talked about what it was like when Sophia ran and Sophia learned to stop asking.

"You don't like him."

It isn't' a question.

"Neither do you."

Sophia nods and sighs. She isn't sure how long she's been at his house. It should bother her maybe that she's ran again but even her mom seemed eager for her to go. One of these days Sophia's going to run and never come back. She wished her mom understood that because she needs to go to.

"Daryl."

He looks over at her and arches a brow. "Why don't you like him?"

"I think you know why."

Sophia swallows and rubs her wrist that's bruised. Daryl doesn't miss the move and his eyes snap to hers. He takes two steps to her and she offers her arm. He's inspecting the bruises there and she can see the red coming over his throat and washing into his face. It doesn't scare her.

"He do this?"

"Yes." Sophia's voice is soft. "He done worse to my mom though."

Daryl bristles visibly.

"Are you going to make me go home?"

He meets her eyes and Sophia stares back.

"I'll be quiet and stay out of your way. I'm good at that."

He lets her wrist go and rubs his face. "Your mom-"

"My mom wanted me to run, Daryl." His name comes out like a plea but Sophia's voice is hard because she doesn't think she can take being sent away. "I'll be quiet...it'll be like I'm not even here."

Daryl meets her eye and nods. "Listen kid. I'm not him. I don't expect you to be like that."

Sophia swallows. "Can….can we-" She stops abruptly.

He offers hot chocolate after a few quiet minutes and Sophia takes it. "What is it?"

"Can we tell my mom where I am so she won't worry?"

Daryl turns snatching something off the counter before offering her the phone. Sophia dials the number quickly. It's her hope that Ed has passed out.

"Hello."

Letting out a breath she smiles. "Mom?"

"Sophia!" Carol's voice is relieved. "Where are you?"

"Neverland."

She says no more because she knows that her mom is aware of what she's talking about. She'd told her mom about this place while Ed wasn't around. Told her how calm it was and quiet. How it looked like it didn't belong in such a dark little town. She'd called it her Neverland causing her mom to laugh. Even if she didn't know everything and Daryl wouldn't tell her. She knew her mom and Ed. Telling Ed where she'd been would have been a bad decision.

Daryl arches a brow at that but Sophia just beams at him. He smirks before walking out of the room.

"Is he standing there?"

"No." Sophia can see Daryl by the fire. He's throwing wood into it.

"Sophia sweetie-"

"I don't want to go back there." Sophia knows it's mean. This man is a stranger but she's safe here. "You know it's a matter of time. Why won't you just run with me?"

"Sophia you know it isn't that easy!"

The distress in her mother's voice doesn't stop her.

"Nothing is easy. It isn't easy being hurt every day but we have been for as long as I can remember. This is easier than that!"

Her voice is raising and Daryl looks over. She tries to smile but has to swipe at tears.

"There's more to it than that." Carol's voice hitches.

"You don't love him. Nothing's keeping you there." Sophia insist. "I'm staying here. He already said that it was fine mom."

"Let me speak to him." Carol demands.

Sophia walks to Daryl holding the phone out. She retreats but not before asking where the bathroom is. Stepping into the bathroom she swipes her tears away and makes a decision. Her mom is leaving there. She doesn't want to come home from school one day to find her dead. Ed doesn't love them and they don't love him. There is nothing there. It's a shell of a what could have been but never was.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few weeks are hard. She's at Daryl's more and more. Once she even took the bus there instead of to her house. When she'd walked up his driveway he'd be splitting wood but just nodded to her. Winter was getting closer and he'd been getting ready for it. He'd laughed when she walked right inside dumping her backpack and getting them something to drink. She always came back to where ever he was. Sometimes she was quiet and sometimes she talked about nonsensical things from school or asked him questions.

She'd been right about Daryl. He would never hurt her and often going out of his way for her. He was something unexpected and she just wished her mom was here for it. This was rapidly becoming a place she considered what a home should be. If he got annoyed at her constant prattling or being around he never said anything. Her mom didn't ask. She knew where Sophia was at and Sophia didn't offer either. It was a horrible stalemate between them. Sophia refused to be a whipping post for that man and she refused to see her mother treated that way. Ed was oblivious and drunk more and more. Her mom seemed to be lost in thought more often than not. She'd pay attention when Sophia spoke to her but otherwise it was like she was remembering something and lost to it.

"I won't be home this weekend." Ed sneered at the pair of them. "Don't do anything to embarrass me while I'm gone."

Sophia pursed her lips glaring at him. Ed paused as he stands at the look. Sophia has never openly looked at him with such hatred and she is pleased to see unease in his eyes. Her mom for her part just stares at him with no expression. That was more and more common. Ed loved seeing people cower in fear of him. He hated not getting a response from her. Sophia was secretly gleeful to know that this bothered him so much.

The door slams behind him and Sophia listens to the rumble of his car. When she can hear it no more she looks at her mom. She's running her finger over the counter and looking around. Sophia walks to her room grabbing her bag from under the bed she'd packed. She knows Daryl has noticed that more and more of her stuff keeps showing up in his spare room. He hasn't said anything so she takes liberties that she probably shouldn't. Sophia tells him the things Ed says, that he's done, and the leering way he _looks_ at her. It makes her skin crawl and the want to wash herself with bleach is strong. Daryl bristles visibly each time but listens. He's good at that. He lets her rant and rave. He knows more of her life story than anyone besides her own mother. He knows more than her mother though on some stuff. The things Ed said to her when her mom wasn't there and her own personal feelings she'd never voiced to her- Daryl heard it.

When she walks back into the kitchen her mom looks over. "I'm leaving."

"Sophia."

"NO!" She snaps. "He almost broke my arm! He threw me down the steps when you went to the store. I came here from school and you weren't here. Do you have any idea how scared I was! How I wished I would have went to Daryl's instead of coming here?"

Carol blinks and nods.

"Come with me! He's not here to stop us."

Carol rubs her throat and slips her wedding ring off her finger looking at it. When she puts it on the counter Sophia feels her heart start to beat rapidly. If she doesn't have a bruise by morning from the furious pounding of her heart against her ribs then she'd was a teletubby! She'd never seen her mom without that ring on though. She walks out of the room and when she comes back she has papers in her hand. She puts them under the ring. Curiosity getting the better of her Sophia walks over. It's divorce papers and she's never felt such release of tension as this. Her body visibly sags and her breathing hitches almost violently.

A sob tears from her throat and her mom's wrap around her. "We're never coming back here. Get everything you want because after today we won't be back."

Sophia gives a watery laughs and rubs her face against her mom's shirt cleaning her tears. "I'm way ahead of you. I've just got this bag left. Everything else is at Daryl's."

Her mom's answering smile is just as watery. Carol's hand runs over her hair and pushes it back from her forehead. When they get into her mom's jeep she's almost bouncing in her seat. Neither look back at the house that is nothing more than a nightmare. The look on Ed's face when he came back here to see his two prisoners were free would be amazing. She was just sad she'd miss it.

"You'll need to get that too." Carol says suddenly.

"Get what?"

"Your stuff from Daryl's. We'll stop by there before we leave."

Sophia slumps and looks at her. She directs her mom to where Daryl's is and as they turn onto the drive she can see her mom tensing. Sophia jumps out as soon as she parks. She hears her mom's door behind her. A man Sophia doesn't know but as seen pictures of steps outside.

She walks up onto the porch. "You're Merle." All the youthful arrogance she can muster shows.

"And you're Sophia." He says. His eyes go behind her. " _Carol_." He grits out.

Sophia looks at her mother and sees her looking at Merle with wide eyes. She walks inside but not before hearing Merle speak again.

"You've got a lot of nerve lady. You rip his fucking heart out and show up on his doorstep after all this time."

The door slaps shut. Sophia swallows and looks up. Pete is lounging on a rug and Sophia searches for Daryl. Looking towards the stairs after hearing his feet slapping she sees him drying his hair with a towel oblivious to her presence. His shirts open and she laughs at his disheveled appearance. Daryl wasn't exactly clean shaven or put together. He didn't try to be something he wasn't like Ed. Ed meticulously shaved _every_ morning. His hair was always just so and his close were impeccably pressed. It was all a show to hide the monster that he was. Nothing about him was real. Daryl on the other hand was real and warm.

He looks up and smiles at her. "I met Merle."

He grimaces but chuckles. "Where is he?"

Sophia looks outside worriedly and Daryl walks the rest of the way to where she is. Sophia catches his wrist. He stops and looks down with the towel around his neck and his hair sticking up every direction. It's longer than when she'd first met him. Merle's voice raises though and halts anything either were going to say. Daryl pushed the door open and steps out. Sophia rushes to follow unsure what's going on. Merle said her mom broke Daryl's heart. She asked her about how she knew him and her mom never mentioned anything like that. She'd quit asking after seeing something in her moms eyes she couldn't place. Daryl never mentioned anything and she was scared to push for fear that he'd tell her to leave. What would it be like to be kicked out of Neverland? Terrible. It'd be terrible. Still she wasn't stupid and knew there was history there that went beyond just high school like Daryl told her- apparently it was his broken heart.

Sophia looks at her mom though and sees her reaction. It's enough to confirm her suspicions. Daryl shifts and Sophia realizes she's still got ahold of Daryl's wrist. Merle looks at her next to his brother and then at Carol.

"Tell me I'm mistaken." He demands. "For fucks sake!"

Her mom swallows and Sophia watches her. She finds herself tightening her grip on his wrist. He's tense and she doesn't like seeing him like this. This is her fault or Merle's. She isn't sure yet. Maybe even her mothers. Either way she feels like something is seriously wrong and she wants answers.

"Merle." Carol starts.

"Don't you fucking Merle me!" He barks.

Daryl looks down at her and she isn't sure what he's seeing because his eyes are doing something strange. Daryl's looking at her like he'd never done it before. It was that look you got when you knew you were a few turns from getting checkmate. You could see all the moves and knew what to do but just needed to see your opponents next moves before being completely sure how things really went. It made that furious beat of her heart start again. Merle and her mom are arguing. He isn't acting like Ed though so she stays in her place. She knows though that Daryl would never let someone put hands on a woman in front of him. He's tense and she can see rapidly building anger there.

"Carol."

His voice silences both people.

"Daryl." She looks at Sophia before looking at him.

He turns and walks inside. Carol goes to follow but Merle stops her. "He took a fucking bullet and was in an induced coma. They didn't have his dog tags to identify him."

"How was I supposed to know!" Carol snarls suddenly. "They told me he was dead! I mourned that man! I didn't hear from you or him for an entire year!"

"And what about her!" Merle snaps pointing at Sophia. "How old is she Carol?" His voice is vicious, intent to maim and flay. "You telling me you were fucking Ed before you married him? Because that's the only other explanation. You started fucking a man the same time that Daryl got his last leave to come see you before he was shipped out?"

Carol flinched and paled. Merle stormed down the steps and Sophia's mouth is in a thin line. Her eyes meet Carol's and she burst into the house. She knows where he is and ignores her mom. Running up the steps she finds him grabbing his stuff. He's furious. His movements agitated and dangerous. Sophia _knows_ he's been shot. She'd seen the scar before and asked because she didn't have a filter to tell her not to. Daryl told her about being in the war. He told her about how it'd gotten him sent home and Merle for that matter. She didn't quite understand how one brother being shot and in a coma gets another sent home but Daryl tried to explain. It was the thing about carrying on the family name. They were _supposed_ to be the last Dixon's but what Merel said...

"Did you know?" Sophia pants.

"No." His voice is hoarse.

His back is to her and she hears her mom behind her. Sophia looks at her mom wanting the truth. Her mom swallows and she meets her eyes. She gives a crisp nod.

"Daryl we need to talk."

He stands and he reaches down snatching up his hunting pack. Carol is blocking the door though and Sophia helps her. She almost smiles at the look there because though she's never seen it on him she's seen it on her own face. He wants to run. How had she never noticed how much they were alike? How had she never seen her own expressions in his face? She could read him from the moment she met him and him her when her mother always had trouble.

When he meets her mom's eyes the look is terrifying. Anger is swirling in his eyes making them look foreboding. He slings his pack across the room, the sound of something shattering loud, tinkling glass striking the floor, and crosses his arm over his chest. Her mom mirrors him. Sophia has never seen her mother look like this. Never seen such fire and passion burning through her she was scared she'd be burned from standing so close.

"I didn't know you were alive. They told me you died in combat." Carol insists. "If I'd know I would have said something."

He gives a harsh laugh. "And when I came home? You didn't think to tell me I had a goddamn kid?"

"You were so mad when you seen me and heard about Ed I didn't get a chance to talk to you." Carol snaps back.

Sophia's eyes widen because she's never heard her mom raise her voice to Ed. Daryl doesn't react like she knows Ed would though. Instead there is a decade of hurt there. Why hadn't her mom at least told her though? Sophia opens her mouth to ask but a deep rumble in Daryl's chest has her mouth snapping shut.

"That son of a bitch hurt her!" His voice is low and dangerous.

Her mom flinches. Sophia unconsciously grabs her arm that'd almost been broken. It's black in a few places. Daryl's eyes snapped to her arm and Sophia already knows what he wants. He's never asked but she always showed him anyways. His eyes were understanding and that alone made her want to show him. It took some of the weight from her shoulders. Daryl'd been there. She knew about his dad. Her grandfather she supposed and knew he understood what it was like to have someone who should have loved wish you dead instead. He knew what it was like to get hurt at their hands and cry yourself to sleep. To wish that you had died instead of being the burden they told you were. Sophia never shied from the truth and knew Daryl would always understand. His understanding was everything at times.

Sophia slid her sleeve up and his chest heaved. Carol made a tormented sound. She moved to where she can see both and sets heavily on the chest at the base of Daryl's bed. He's still looking at her arm and his hands are shaking. Her mom is watching him quietly and Sophia isn't sure how to fix this. Her own hurt is palpable. Daryl was her father. From the moment he'd found her out there like a little lost pup to the now she'd always felt drawn to him. Like there was a connection there but wasn't able to explain. Thought it would make her sound crazy. It also told her why her mother was so okay with her being around him. Daryl was an amazing man, he was her father and she'd missed so much time with him.

"I don't want you to fight." Sophia's voice is soft. "We can do better."

Both people in front of her swallow and her mom looks at Daryl again. He won't look at her. The look on her mothers face tells her that she knew he wouldn't. He's hurt and both can see it. He's still visibly mad and looks ready to throw a fit. It'll take time for those wounds to heal.

"He knew she wasn't his." His voice is dead. "That's why he hurt her?"

Sophia looks at her mom and knows the truth without her saying it. She'd done her best to protect her but Ed was getting worse. She'd never thought to ask why but with everything going on she thought she knew why.

"When did you move back here Daryl?" Carol asked suddenly. "You never came back after we fought years ago."

"Few months ago." His voice was hoarse now. "Is this because of me?"

"Ed knew he was my dad? Is he my dad?" Sophia demanded. She wants to hear her mother say it outloud.

Carol looked at her and Sophia waited. Her mom nodded and tears spilled. Daryl's chest heaves but he's still not looked at her mother. Sophia almost wants to laugh because again it is something that she does when she's mad.

"I thought it was because I wasn't a boy." Sophia said.

"Sophia can you give us a minute." Carol's voice is soft like she's trying to not spook Daryl.

She's downstairs when she hears his bedroom door shut. Merle is there and he regards her. It's not hostile and she accepts that he's not going to yell at her. This was her uncle. She had an uncle. Her chest tightens and she tries to smile but it breaks and Merle's eyes widen.

"Are you about to start crying?" Sophia snorts and he grins at her. "They fighting?"

Shrugging her shoulders. "He didn't know about me?"

"No."

"He..." She stops and clears her throat. "If he'd known about me would he have wanted me?"

"Kid." Merle sighs, "If he'd known about you he would have fought tooth and nail. Ed would have died years ago."

Sophia meets his eyes. "Do you think he wants me even now?"

"Yes." Merle's answer is quick. "You're family."

"He hates my mom."

Merle gives her a look that Sophia doesn't understand. He shakes his head and lights a cigarette. She walks over to stand by him. Pete is panting up at them and tilting his head as a loud voice carries down the steps. There are more shouted words to follow but Merle doesn't seem worried.

"He doesn't hate her. Being hurt and hating someone is two different things." Merle's voice is guarded. "She hurt him years ago and now he's just finding out he's got a kid."

"What made him move back here?"

"He's not in the military anymore. He isn't moving around all the time on their command." Merle chuckles. "He followed me into the military and she was pissed but supported it."

They lapse into silence. Merle is blowing smoke rings as Pete tries to catch them. Her laughter is quiet and Merle chuckles low every so often. Those voices from before aren't as loud and eventually faded. Her mind can't seem to settle on just how things have turned out. Was it a stroke of luck that Daryl found her? Sophia never considered herself lucky but maybe something or someone was looking out after her. After being hurt by Ed for so long she was catching a break.

Her mom comes down the stairs after a bit and Sophia can see she's cried. When Daryl comes down he walks out back. Merle stands but not before glowering at her mom. For her part she doesn't cower. Sophia isn't use to this woman. A woman who stands up and yells back at people and defends herself. She much prefers this though.

"I'm not leaving." Sophia's voice is quiet.

Her mom nods and takes a seat on the steps outside. "I never told him because after we fought he left town. He was so mad at me. I was already with Ed. For an entire year I thought he was dead and then I moved. I met him and you were just a few months old. He wasn't how he is now then." She looks at her daughter and Sophia waits. "When I seen Daryl it was almost two years and he knew about Ed."

"He didn't let you explain?"

Carol gave her a rueful smile. "His temper was just like his dad's when he was younger and so was mine. I was to shocked at seeing him to think straight and then we fought. I said things I shouldn't have and regret. He left town before I could speak to him again." Carol rubbed her hands together. "Daryl never did take well to being slapped and he'd stormed away. I was to proud to go after him."

"This is the first time since he took me home that you'd seen him?"

"Yes."

"Merle said he's out of the military now."

"He didn't re-enlist."

Sophia shifted closer to her mom and laid her head on her shoulder. Her head was spinning but she wasn't upset. No she was relieved. Ed wasn't her dad. Daryl was and that to her was the best thing. If she could just get them to stop fighting then things would be better.


	4. Chapter 4

The obvious is that her mother can't stand Merle Dixon. That much she knows and is completely sure of. With that comes the notion that Merle would like to strangle her mother. At one time she could have seen them getting along. That's broken now and between them stands a lot of uncertainty. It's enough to make her wish they'd just stop talking. Daryl seems lost with what to do with the two of them. Maybe he wants to strangle them both because he looks it a lot of the time. Then again Sophia herself feels that way. The fighting isn't as bad as it was with Ed but then Merle hasn't tried to break her mother's arm for fun either.

She can see the sneer curling her uncle's lip and knows he's still mad. She doesn't think it's just anger though. More that he seems protective of his brother. He's like a growling dog around Daryl and it's putting her mother on edge. Daryl himself is mad. Sophia would go as far as to say he's hurt but she knows that he's shoving that away. He's dealing in anger. Something Merle told her that was easier. She didn't ask why he'd tell her that and she didn't want too. Daryl told her about his dad when she'd gotten upset about Ed. When she'd finally started talking about it. It was a weight she'd never realized was on her chest lifting off after telling him. He'd gotten upset and angry when she'd told him how bad it really was. Now she knows it's going to be worse. She'd pulled no punches when she'd told him the entire story. Sophia knows why anger is easier to handle when emotions threaten to overwhelm. She has as a childhood that is testament to pain, rejection, and anger. A broken home is a hell of an introduction into life.

It scares her at times how much she sees of herself in Daryl. For a while she'd thought they were alike in more ways than one but pushed it away. The illusion of coincidence was shattered though when she found out he was her father. It made sense and that was all that mattered to her. She had a father that wasn't a complete psycho and she couldn't understand why no one else was just as happy as her. Her mother was scared and Merle was defensive. Daryl….she's not sure what she sees in his eyes when he looks at her. She wants to think he's happy. She needs to believe that he's happy or she's going to break. If she's rejected by him then she's sure that she'd die right there. How many times could you have a would be father tell you you aren't good enough before you're just done? Sophia's sure she's likely to find out if things don't work here.

The tension she could see in her mother was toxic. It threatened to crash Sophia's world around her and she refused that. Merle was just as bad. Barbs and insults every time he opened his mouth and her mother returning them with a level of acidity she'd never heard from her before. She didn't know where she'd hidden this backbone all those years but it was nice to see. Then again the yelling she heard her mother doing at Daryl earlier told her that it was likely just stashed away for a rainy day. Ed hadn't broke her mother completely at least.

Daryl and her mother fought repeatedly. Again Sophia understood. He was hurt. Her mother raised her away from him. He'd not even known he had a kid and so much time passed. He didn't even have the benefit of thinking she'd had a good childhood. To add insult to injury was that he'd never known if she hadn't stumbled upon his home. Sophia wouldn't have known and that's when she'd find herself getting mad. She didn't want to be mad. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of crying and screaming. Tired of bruised, blood, and hiding behind a locked door while a man that threatened her tried to get in. She just wanted to be happy and was going to fight tooth and nail for it.

"Why can't you just shut up?" Carol hissed at Merle.

Merle just sneered at the woman that was glaring daggers at him. Both were being quieter after earlier. They'd finally pushed Daryl to his breaking point. She'd never heard him raise his voice once during all the fighting until then. Her mother and Merle done enough yelling for them all. Sophia was scared he was actually in shock, that was until his barking voice thundered around them, then she'd almost laughed. FINALLY! Her mom and merle stopped yelling. That didn't last long though after he left. He wasn't back yet and everyone was anxiously waiting on him. Sophia asked what him and her mother fought about but was dismissed like she was a child that wouldn't understand. Her mom might not tell her but she knew that Daryl would. He was blunt and upfront. He didn't baby her and she appreciated it.

"I guess for the same reason that you didn't tell a man he had a kid. For shits and giggles." Merle snarled.

Sophia rubbed her face violently. If she filled a spray bottle with water and sprayed them every time they talked; it might shut them up.

"That isn't even remotely close to the truth and you know it." Carol snapped back. "You know me Merle and know that I would have never just kept her from him."

"See that's the thing though, Carol, you did keep her from him!" Merle stood fluidly. His voice echoed through the house. "And if I didn't know any better I'd think your fucking ass was planning on running regardless of him finding out now!"

Sophia flinched. Where was the lie? Her mom knew Daryl seen her. Knew that Sophia had met him. Knew he was back in town. And in all of that upheaval she'd not mentioned going to him. Sophia knew that he would have helped immediately. Even if she hadn't been his kid he would have. He was a good man. No one could argue he wasn't. He'd given her shelter all this time even before her mom left Ed. He didn't have too and that was something no one was thinking about. Daryl cared. Instead though her mother was going to just leave. Disappear before Ed got back in town. So Merle wasn't exactly wrong in his assumption and it made Sophia sick to her stomach.

Was her mother so scared to face Daryl anger and hurt? Yes. Without a doubt. She'd seen the anguish her mother tried to hide when Daryl realized that he had a kid. She'd seen the lost look that she'd had. She even seen the longing there. Was it just for Sophia to finally have a dad or something else? She wasn't sure.

Sophia looked over at them and sighed. "No amount of yelling and screaming is going to undo the past."

Both adults stared at her like they'd forgotten she was there. Sophia stared back. It was like gazing into an abyss. Was she going to be swallowed up by the poignant feelings threatening everything? Probably if these two couldn't stop shouting. It was causing her stomach to churn with anxiety. Where was Daryl?

"Sophia." Carol started.

Sophia stood and dusted her jeans off. "No, you've both given me a headache and I'm going to wait outside for him to get back."

She grabbed a jacket that was thrown on the back of one of the couches. It hung off her smaller frame like a blanket. Looking down she realized it was Daryl's...her dad's. Should she start calling him dad now? Would that just be weird? Would he be bothered? Sophia was confused and just wanted him to come home. Her finger traced of his name stitched into the jacket and smiled. If her mother forced her to leave here today she was stealing this.

Merle stared at her and smiled suddenly. He chuckled and it wasn't the same condescending one she'd been hearing for the last three hours. Instead he looked amused and his eyes were brighter. That dark swirl of anger was gone when he looked at her and Sophia felt hope flair to life in her chest. This was her uncle. No one could take that from her. She smiled back at him and it only made his smile shine more.

"He'll come back, kid." He assured.

Sophia nodded. "I know."

Carol shifted on her feet and then slouched onto the couch by the fireplace. Her eyes were outside and tears were threatening to spill. She thought about going to her but walked outside instead. She had her own feelings to deal with and didn't think she could stand another minute in the stifling house.

Pete flops at her feet and Sophia smiles down at his sleepy face. He yawns at her and falls asleep without a care. How lucky he was. His sleep didn't last long though. It doesn't take her but a second to know why his head snapped up when she hears the roar of Daryl's bike.

He's just stopped when the door slaps open and Merle's down the steps. Sophia is trailing him. Looking over her shoulder she half hopes her mom will come out but knows better. That fear is still there. She still isn't sure if her mother feels it for her daughter or herself. Maybe both. Sophia jogs to catch up with Merle and both come to a stop as Daryl swings his leg over the bike.

"Well this is awkward." Sophia grins.

Daryl snorts and Merle looks down at her. "And saying that helped so much."

Daryl finally looking at the pair of them just snorts. He shakes his head and his hand is running through his hair before he's chewing his thumb nail. Sophia wishes that he wasn't so stressed because he usually seems light. The heaviness she can see around his eyes and shoulders is even weighing her down.

"Do you want me to leave?" Sophia's voice is soft.

Her mother was never one for such bluntness. Even when she'd been a smaller and first starting school she can remember being scolded for talking in such a way. Her mother was more of a soft touch. Now she sees where she gets it. Her dad. It's enough to make her smile despite the questions she's just thrown out there.

He's staring at her hard. It's not unfriendly but it's enough to almost wish she hadn't asked. Merle is too and she isn't so sure he won't slap his brother. He's made it clear that blood is blood and you don't turn your back on your family. How many times had she heard him bark at her mother with that same thing? Ten, fifteen, or more...she lost count to be honest.

"No."

Sophia nods her approval. "What did she say to you?"

Merle's eyes are wide and he even hadn't asked earlier. The door was closed for a reason was the message she'd gotten from her mom. Some things were between them. Sophia didn't really care though. She was their kid and had a right to know. That was how she seen it anyways.

Merle whistled low for a second before laughing. "On that note I'll leave you two to hash that shit out."

Daryl waves him away and Merle walks, no saunters, away. When she looks back over Daryl's on the bike again but isn't straddling it like he's going to leave. His brow is raised and Sophia realizes he's just noticed her attire.

"I was cold." Her voice is defensive.

He hums low in his throat before shrugging. "She's leaving Ed."

"I know." Sophia huffs. "Why was she yelling at you? I didn't hear you yelling at her."

He rubs his face and then crosses his arms over his chest. The sound of the door opening has Daryl looking over her shoulder. When he scowls she knows it's her mom.

"She always liked yelling at me." He shrugs. "I always had a knack for pissing her off."

Sophia laughs and nods. She knows how that is. Not that her mother yelled at her but she had a knack for making her mother mad too.

"Are you going to keep fighting?"

Daryl exhales harshly. "Hard to say."

"If you fight with her she isn't going to want to-"

He looks at her sharply. "Regardless of what the fuck she wants, Sophia, she isn't just disappearing with you." His breathing is faster.

Chewing her lip and looking over her shoulder she does what she's always done best. Meddle.

"Did you love her?"

If she hadn't been staring at him so intently she knew she would have missed it. It was gone before she could even blink. Even if he didn't speak his answer the look on his face was answer enough.

"Yes." His voice is that weird emotionless tone she'd heard upstairs.

Sophia scuffs her shoe in the gravel. Stepping around til she's next to him. Her mother is on the porch. The swing is creaking quietly as her foot pushes against the banister. If she didn't know about the turmoil she would have thought she was waiting happily on her husband and kid after they'd come home. It was a lie though. One she would happily tell herself at the moment.

"Do you think you could ever love me?" Sophia persists.

Daryl smiles then and Sophia is pleased to see it. Her chest tightens when she realizes that it's not just a friend she's made smile. It's her dad. Ed never smiled at her.

"Yes."

Sophia nods at that and nudges him. "Can you do me a favor then?" When he looks down awaiting on her to speak she has a moment when she thinks that her mother will be mortified but shrugs it away. Oh well. "Can you try for me? Try to not hate her. She was never happy. I might not have known why then but I get it now. Ed was never you and would have never compared. I think he knew it too and he knew I wasn't his. I think Ed was jealous of something he never had a chance of having with her because she'd already given it away."

Daryl looks away sharply and his breathing is uneven. Sophia feels a little guilty but then again she wasn't going to let her family slip between her fingers. Merle's look from earlier told her that Daryl didn't hate her mom. No, if she wasn't mistaken it implied the opposite.

"She mourned you and then when she found out you weren't dead she mourned you again when you left." Sophia's voice breaks. "She looks at me sometimes like she sees someone else and would get so sad. I never understood why then but I get it now. Just….please."

He stands and Sophia does looking up at him. He's not looking at her and she forces herself to not smile. She was right. Her mother would be mortified if she'd heard what Sophia said.

When he finally looks down he nods at her and it's all she needs. Before he can take off for the house she's threw her arms around him. He stumbles back a step at the sudden embrace. Sophia lets him go just as quickly and beams up at him. He gives an awkward smile before both walk to the house. Sophia looks up seeing that her mother has watched the entire time. She's too far to see what she looks like but she would plead with her just like she did Daryl.


	5. Chapter 5

**Time jump here. There isn't a lot left of this story. I suspect two chapters after this. Hope everyone has a good weekend.**

"That makes me happier than a bullfrog in a beetle bin."

Sophia looked over and bit her lip. She was use to the men that worked with her dad by now. The man talking at the moment was named Clint. His accent was thick like molasses as Merle liked to say. Sophia liked to listen to him and Merle argue. It never made sense and always got her dad flustered. At the moment she wasn't sure why he was talking about beetles and frogs but her dad was fighting laughing. Merle looked ready to ring his bell.

Sophia watched his face as he looked away and shook his head. It'd been a year. A really rough year fraught with fights that threatened to shatter what little peace there was. Ed and her mom fought worse than anyone though. After he'd come home to find them gone he'd went on a manhunt. Of course her mom decided she'd just file for divorce and just avoid him the best she could. Sophia agreed with this since she couldn't help but to think the man would hurt her given a chance. Ed was sick in the head.

Merle wasn't as mad as he once was at her mom. She seen the sideways glances he'd shoot her at times and after a bit of time around the man it was clear what he thought. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He didn't trust her mom. He didn't like her. He didn't want her around his brother. He grit his teeth any time he seen her talking to Daryl. She understood Merle's desire to protect his brother. He'd told her when he'd been told Daryl was being air evacuated from a combat zone he'd been terrified. Daryl was all he had.

The fights between her mom and dad though made her chest tighten. At times she wasn't able to swallow around the tension that would be around them. She would call Merle and ask him to come get her. He'd get her out of there for a while. He was everything she'd wanted. He was hilarious, crude, and he didn't bullcrap her. If she asked he'd answer. So that's what she did. She asked everything she could about her dad, him, their family, and her mom's past with her dad. The things she learned made her mad at times. It made her want to scream. It made her cry but her eyes were open. He'd told her to keep her chin up and that same smile on his face that he reserved for his brother shining through for her. Merle took her under his wing and she'd never felt safer.

"Sophia."

She looked over seeing her dad looking at her now. She raised a brow mirroring his look without trying. Merle chuckled. He found it hilarious that she had so many of his brothers mannerisms. Especially if she started to argue with him. He'd cackled and tell Daryl that now he got to see what it was like being around him as a child.

"You have your shit together?"

Sophia sighed dramatically. She hated leaving his house. It was another fight between her and her mom. She hated the look in her mom's eyes but at the same time how could she not see that she'd want to be around him? Daryl was her dad. He'd kept her safe and he'd welcomed her with open arms. He'd never refused Carol coming here with her. He'd even followed her stupid rules. Sophia tried to persuade her to take Daryl's spare room but she'd outright refused. It was stupid to her and she wanted to tell them to suck it up.

The year since finding out that Daryl was her dad wasn't just fights. At times she thought that there was a chance she could have it all. She'd seen the glances her mom shot him. Her dad was more guarded so she wasn't sure what he thought. Sophia learned to not get her hopes up though after Merle told her the truth of how bad he'd been hurt. She didn't just leave him. She'd crushed his heart when they'd fought and he'd had to leave for the military. Things just got worse from there. Merle told her often to give it time that Daryl was hurt a lot in his past. She took her chances when she could about pushing them together. Her dad clammed up and shot her silencing looks. Merle would grin like a loon and nod eagerly. Her mom would grimace and at times Sophia thought it was just for show. She liked to believe she seen hope in her eyes.

Still it wasn't enough. A year and while after a few months the tension of complete rage dissipated from her dad...the tension was still there. Just different now. She didn't understand. Why couldn't they just be happy? Her mom's divorce was final. Ed had backed off quickly when the courts were made aware she wasn't his kid and that her father knew about her. That Daryl was serious about being in her life. It took one run in with her dad for Ed to never look her way again. She didn't know what was said but the satisfaction in her dad's eyes after that made her smile. Merle seemed smug. Anything that made her dad smile like he did that day had to be good.

"Yes." Sophia sighed after a while.

Merle and Clint were now eyeballing a new truck that was parked in the shop's parking lot. She'd packed earlier and threw her bag in his truck. It was the same every time her mom picked her up. At first she'd intentionally not pack her stuff and leave it. It worked for a while until she had her own key. Then her mom would just take her still and make her go in and get her stuff. If she wasn't going to be home at his house she'd pack her bag to save a trip now.

When he sighed and leaned back on his elbows next to her on the steps Sophia smiled. She liked moments like this. The calm. No thick tension making it hard to breathe and focus. No arguing. Just them and the setting sun.

"What's the matter?" He questioned.

Sophia rubbed her hand over the tear in her jeans. She'd caught it earlier on the table in the shop laden with tools. He was watching her and Sophia didn't meet his eyes. Instead she thought it over. She loved her mom. That never changed. She loved her dad too and having to be away from either of them sucked. It was painful really. She'd lost so much time with her dad that she wanted to make up with every free moment she had with him. He was never to busy for her. If she called him and asked him if he wanted to do something he'd always say yes. He'd canceled a lot of plans and called into work a few times for her. Still, Sophia knew that it wasn't fair to her mom to stay with him constantly. It didn't stop her all the time but Daryl did. He'd always remind her that she needed to spend time with her mom.

"I don't want to go." Sophia mumbled.

Even as low as she spoke she knew he heard. He looked at her sharply and waited. Sophia toed her shoe against the blacktop.

"I feel like she got the house the furthest from you she could." Sophia whined. "It's not even walking distance."

Daryl snorted and Sophia kicked at his boot. His laughter was a bit louder then.

"You act like you'll never see me again." He chuckled. "It's a forty minute drive."

Sophia huffed a breath. His laughter stopped but she knew he was amused. That laughter would leave though when her mom got there. He'd be polite but there was an edge to it that made the hair on the back of her neck raise. Her mom always seemed flustered around him and desperate to get away. Sophia pointedly moved slow when they interacted to try and drag the moments out longer. Exposure to each other had to make things eventually better, right?

"What will you do this weekend?" Sophia prodded.

Daryl shrugged and stood. "Probably go hunting."

Sophia looked up at him before looking at the new car pulling in. She didn't know it. A slender red head slipped from the vehicle and shut the door with a sharp snap. Sophia watched her as she trotted right up to his dad. He was oblivious to the woman as he watched his brother argue with Clint. Sophia took a moment to watch the woman. Already she didn't like her. She seemed, like her mom would say, tarted up.

"Daryl."

He looked over and Sophia didn't miss the grimace on his face. "Tessa."

She smiled at him slowly and then looked at Sophia. "This must be your daughter!"

Daryl shifted suddenly and Sophia was partially behind him. He nodded at the woman but offered her no words on the matter. Sophia liked that about him. Especially right now because she wasn't sure she wanted to be nice to this walking poster for skanks.

The woman straightened from where she'd been about to greet Sophia. Setting her sights back on Daryl. Her eyes ran over him and Sophia felt her hackles rise. It was stupid and irrational but telling herself that was another thing when she seen women flirt with him. It wasn't the first time and she'd had to accept that it wouldn't be the last. Sophia just insinuated herself rudely into the situations and the woman usually balked at seeing her. Some were still pesky but she always won when it came to her dad. The thought of either of her parents with another person caused anger to rush through her and nearly blind her. In her mind they should be together. They should all be together and happy.

"There something you need Tessa? We're getting ready to close." Daryl's voice was bored.

Sophia looked over as the woman motioned to her car. Sophia didn't listen to what she was saying. Instead opting to glare at her. The woman noticed. They weren't actually about to close. She knew that her dad would be here for another hour at the least. Him and his brother stayed late on Fridays to close up the books.

"Give me a second." He spoke to Sophia as he walked to car and popped the hood.

While he was pawing around under the hood as the tart fawned over him. Sophia felt her anger simmering. It didn't go away either when her mom pulled up. Usually she'd run and hug Merle before leaving. She'd wrap around her dad not wanting to say bye. She would walk to the car after prolonging the moment. Instead she set right there and glowered over at the car that her dad was looking over. The tart was too close to him.

After a few minutes of Sophia blatantly ignoring her mom she heard her get out. Carol walked over to her and offered her a milkshake. Sophia took it without looking at her.

"Where's your dad and Merle?"

Sophia smiled at the use of the word dad for Daryl. It'd took her mom a while to get it out without pain overshadowing it's use. Now it rolled off the tongue like Daryl had always been there. It warmed Sophia.

"Merle is inside." Sophia looked up briefly before jerking her head towards the other side of the parking lot. "Dad's helping that." Sophia spit out.

Sophia watched her mom. It was quick. Like a flash in a frying pan but there all the same. Sophia felt a triumphant bubble of enthusiasm explode in her chest. She might not know everything about adults. She didn't really want to know everything about her parents and whatever weird stalemate they were in. But she knew jealousy when she seen it.

Carol cleared her throat. "He just left you here?"

Sophia snorted and Carol frowned at her. She'd started picking up a lot more of her dad's habits. Snorting derisively was one of them. Her mother hated it. Just like her dad hated the way she cocked her hip out when she was about get on a tear. It was the same thing her mom done.

Sophia looked over the same time the woman put her hand on Daryl's back as he leaned over the engine. He was completely focused and wasn't paying her a bit of attention. Sophia stood up and started walking.

"Sophia!" Carol called.

She was halfway across the parking lot before she heard her mother curse behind her. It appeared that certain family traits were starting to show more now. Like her temper. It was always there but under lock and key. Ed having nearly killed her spirit.

"DAD." Sophia called loudly.

He looked up sharply and turned his head at her raised voice. Concern on his face. Sophia smiled when she seen irritation on the woman's face. That wouldn't do well for her if she really wanted to sink her chipped claws into her dad. The second she was rude to her then her dad would blow a fuse. He didn't take things like that well. He'd punched Merle in the face once for just snapping at her.

"Mom's here." Sophia preened at him.

The woman's eyes flicked behind her and she very nearly sneered. Daryl straightened and swiped at the sweat beading on his forehead. His hair stuck up and Sophia smiled up at him. Carol caught up to her then.

The woman turned to him and smiled. "So what's the diagnosis?"

He shook his head at her and then raised both his hands to his mouth. A loud whistle split the air and Merle opened the door. He looked out and Daryl called him over. The woman stood there and kept shooting glances at her mom. Sophia watched her and smiled brightly when the woman looked at her. She winked and then wrapped her hand around her dad's wrist. She pulled on him and he stepped over without looking at her. He was watching his brother instead. The movement took him further away from the tart and she heard her mom laugh under her breath.

Anger flared in the tarts eyes at the laugh and she look at Carol. "Did we go to school together?"

Sophia looked up at her mom waiting to see what she'd say. Did they?

"Don't think so." Carol answered slightly amused.

The woman stared at her hard before looking at Daryl again. When she looked back at Carol the look was mean. "No, no you wouldn't remember. I was years below you in school when you graduated."

The jab didn't go unnoticed and Sophia glared at her. Her mom just laughed unbothered. "I was _doing_ more important things than meeting underclassmen."

Sophia was glaring at the woman and missed the way her mom's eyes pointedly ran over dad. What she didn't miss was the irate look on the woman's face. Merle chose that moment to finally make it to them and Daryl turned back around. He'd miss half the conversation but raised a brow at the looks being passed around.

"What the fuck do you need?" Merle snapped.

Daryl leaned back over the car's engine and Merle mirrored. Sophia kept her eyes on the woman as her eyes ran over her dad blatantly. Sophia felt her lip curl in a sneer. When the woman looked at her again she sneered right back.

"Move your ass Tessa you're in the way." Merle growled.

Sophia barked a laugh. Tessa was forced to move over to where her mom and herself stood. She looked like she'd rather swallow bleach than be there.

"Sophia tell your dad bye we need to go." Carol prodded.

Sophia huffed a breath. The slap the of the shop door had her looking over. Clint was strutting towards them and spitting dip spit everywhere. Tessa made a face at it but Clint just smiled wider at her. He looked at Sophia and winked. He slung her a coat and Sophia slid it on. It was her dad's work jacket. It had the shop's name and her dad's name on it. It hung around her frame making her look tiny.

"I didn't know you were here Carol or I would have grabbed you a coat." Clint offered with a polite smile. "Want me to get you one?"

"Tessa what the fuck did you say you done when this shit started making noises?" Merle stood and swiped at grease on his hand.

Tessa stood straighter. "Oh I just noticed it."

Daryl shook his head but slapped Merle on the back. "I'm heading out. You okay to close on your own?"

"Yeah." Merle waved him away.

Tessa widened her eyes when Daryl clearly passed her off to his brother. Clint was openly smiling at Tessa's distraught look. Daryl walked away though without a backwards glance. Sophia watched her mom look towards him but Daryl was looking through his wallet. Tessa was watching him too. She excused herself from Merle and Clint. Merle made a noise in this throat that was amused and elbowed Clint. Both looked where the woman was sauntering.

"You going to do anything about that?" Clint questioned.

Merle stared after his brother. "Nah."

"She isn't going to give up on him. She's had it bad for him since she started fucking highschool." Clin spit to the side. "Broke her heart when he got shipped out."

"He didn't even know who the hell she was until her ass started stalking him." Merle cackled.

Sophia pursed her lips. Tessa caught her dad at the door going inside. He was staring at her but Sophia wasn't able to hear what was being said. Carol nudged Sophia again.

Sophia glared at her mom. "I have to say bye first!"

Carol pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. Sophia stomped off from her and after her dad. When she got near them her dad's eyes landed on her. His lips lifted in the corner. Tessa looked over her shoulder and shot Sophia a murderous look.

"You leaving now?" He ignored the woman.

Sophia sighed dramatically and put upon. "Yessss." Drawing the word out.

Daryl laughed and Sophia shoulder checked Tessa as she got closer. The woman stumbled sideways. Sophia launched herself at her dad so he was forced to catch her instead of righting the tart. He grunted under the impact but Sophia just hugged him tightly.

"Excuse you." Tessa snapped. "That was rude."

Daryl's head turned sharply. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Tessa motioned to Sophia, "She needs a lesson in manners."

Daryl extracted himself from Sophia's hug. He pushed her hair back from her face and smiled down at her. "I'll see you next weekend. Tell your mom I'll pick you up from school Friday."

He pushed her towards her mom. There was a thick tension in her dad's shoulders. It wasn't the same as she seen when he was dealing with her mom. No this one set her teeth on edge and made her eyes wide. She nodded sagely at him which just made him smile. Sophia walked away. When she got to the car she paused and looked back at him. That tension that seemed to be there snapped and he looked like a wild animal snarling in the face of Tessa.

"What was that?" Carol prodded when they were in the car.

"She got rude with me." Sophia was quiet as she slowly buckled up. "He said he'd pick me up from school Friday."

Carol looked over at him and then at her. "I'm surprised you didn't stay the weekend with him this time."

"I wanted to." Sophia sighed. "He told me I needed to spend time with you and sent me home, mom."

"Sophia." Carol sighed. "If you want to stay with him this weekend you can."

"He already has plans."

Carol looked over at her dad sharply. Sophia stared at her in surprise to see the anger there. Her mom was looking between him and Tessa. Sophia looked back over and realized what her mom thought she meant. Instead of correcting her and telling her it was hunting she let her think it was plans with Tessa. Carol grit her teeth but said nothing. Sophia decided she would wait to see how this went before saying anything.

"Well then we'll just find something to do that doesn't involve Daryl Dixon." Carol chirped.

Sophia girnned. "I guess so. I hope he don't starve though. He is a terrible cook."

Carol snorted and looked over at her. "He always was."

Sophia smiled even wider. She loved when her mom would let little things slip like that. Things that she'd remembered from when she was with him.

The roar of a bike coming to life had Sophia looking behind them. Her dad was straddling his bike. Sophia realized she had his coat. She bit her lip but smiled when he pulled up next to them at the redlight. He nodded to her and the bike idled loudly.

"Did you ride here on that?" Carol ground out.

"Mom he's been to war. I think he can handle driving me on a bike." Sophia laughed. "Besides he's a good driver. It's Merle you should worry about."

Carol made a noise in her throat. "Well stay off Merle's bike."

When the light turned green the roar of her dad's bike made her look over again. He was off like a shot. It didn't take long before he was in front of them. Sophia watched as the air whipped his shirt around and lifted it in the back. The cold air beating against him. They were caught at the next light. Sophia nudged her mom as they pulled up to take the next exit to head home. It put Daryl on her mom's side.

Unsnapping her seatbelt she went to work on jerking the coat off. Sophia threw it into her mom's lap. "He has to be freezing! He don't even have sleeves on."

Carol rolled her window down. Daryl was balancing the bike with one foot down and drumming his fingers.

"Daryl." Carol called loudly.

He looked over at her with a raised brow. She held the jacket out to him. His brow climbed higher but he walked the bike backwards and then pulled closer. He took it and stood as the waited. Sophia grinned when her mom watched him pull it on. When she looked at her daughter Sophia gave her a knowing look. Carol flushed and glared at her but it bled away when her dad disappeared down the opposite road as them. Neither really wanting to see him go but one to stubborn to say anything.


	6. Chapter 6

Sophia hid her smile watching her mom. It'd been an hour. Just an hour and she was brooding something awful. The ride home was tense and riddled with something unsaid. A few times she caught her mom looking at her like she wanted to ask something. Each time Sophia waited patiently. Her eyes batting innocently at her mom.

"Are you hungry?" Carol asked after a few minutes of staring out the window.

Sophia sighed dramatically. "No. I went out to lunch with dad earlier."

Carol looked over at her and Sophia picked at the hole in her jeans. "Something wrong?"

Bingo. Here was her chance. Sophia hid her smile behind her hair. When she looked up she'd wiped her face clear of any emotion that would give her away. If she was going to get what she wanted she had to be more like Merle.

"Do you think that dad will bring Tessa around me?" Sophia cleared her throat. "I mean he seemed shocked she was at his work _today_."

Carol pursed her lips almost violently. Sophia watched the play of emotions over her face. It was comical. For her mom to claim she didn't care for the man beyond platonic nature her face sure spoke otherwise. Carol chewed her lip and her nail raked along the counter. When she looked at Sophia she'd tried to smile It came across more as a grimace and Sophia bat her eyes at her.

Carol cleared her throat. "He's not talked to me about it, honey. I don't know."

"I don't want him with another woman." Sophia whined. "I just got my dad finally. She don't like me mom. Did you see how she was looking at me? She's going to try to drive a wedge between us."

Carol's eyes flashed. "Daryl would never let that happen!"

"She's not the only woman who sniffs around him though." Sophia muttered. "If not her then some other woman is going to come along. He'll get the wife and kid he wanted. He'll get to raise that kid like he never got to me."

Carol blinked rapidly and Sophia almost, almost being the keyword, felt bad. She knew her mother felt terrible for keeping the news from Daryl that he had a kid. They fought viciously over it. Merle made sure to tell her often enough that she sent Daryl on a three week binder. He'd drunk himself into a stupor so bad that even Merle himself was worried.

"Sophia..." Carol spoke softly. "He's your dad no matter what. He's never going to replace you."

"He might." Sophia whispered. "You replaced him. Everyone talks like it's no big deal to find someone new! Merle has someone new every day."

Carol grit her teeth. "Daryl is not his brother." She set heavily at the table. "Is this just because of that woman?"

"Don't it bother you to see him with someone else?" Sophia challenged. "That's supposed to be _you_. That's supposed to be us there with him. Not some whore!"

Carol's eyes widened. Sophia's chest heaved. She swiped at her eyes and her mom's mouth popped open like she wasn't sure she'd heard her right. Sophia stared at her defiantly. She wanted an answer for once. Not this crap she'd been fed since finding him. Not the things are different. Too much has changed.

"I see the way you look at him!" Sophia snapped. "I thought once you got away from Ed it'd be different." Sophia stood. "It's the same though. You're still scared and hiding from him. Nothing is stopping you but yourself."

She stormed from the room. She was in the living room with the phone in her hand. The number to her dad already dialed. He answered on the second ring.

 **"Hello."**

 **"Come get me."**

He was quiet for a minute and Sophia looked up seeing her mom. Carol was staring at her. Eyes blazing. It wasn't anger. Shame maybe? She wasn't sure. She wanted to believe that her mother still loved. She knew it wa the truth though. She was scared and letting it hold her back. He was there though. Just in reach and she was letting it slip away. Sophia had a profound fear that another woman would see how great he was and snap him up. She'd whined multiple times about it.

"Sophia." Carol called.

 **"Please dad." Sophia's voice broke.**

 **"Give me thirty minutes."**

The line died and Sophia hung the phone up with a sharp snap. Her mother's eye twitched. Her hip jutted out and Sophia seen the stirrings of her anger.

"You can't just call him up like that when you decide you're mad." Carol snapped.

"Why not? He's MY dad." Sophia sneered. "Or does that only matter when he's not around you?"

Carol swallowed, "We need to talk about this."

Sophia glared. "Then I guess we have thirty minutes before he's here."

Carol's shoulders tightened. "This isn't going to be a habit. You can't run from your problems."

Sophia laughed. "The apple didn't fall far from the tree, mom." Sophia collapsed onto the couch.

"This is different."

"No, it's really not."

Carol stormed forward, "Sophia things between me and him are different. I lied to him. He's not going to get over that."

Sophia stared up at her. "Have you even asked or are you just assuming?"

Carol licked her lips and Sophia watched her face closely. Her eyes went to the clock. Her mom seemed a million miles away though. The minutes were ticking by. What would happen when he was here. She knew she was ruining his plans. She had a moment of guilt for it and decided that if this worked then it was worth it.

"You can't keep telling to stop running when that's all you keep doing. From him, then Ed, and now from him again. Whether you want it or not he's apart of our lives." Sophia's voice broke.

Carol looked at her again and nodded. "I know."

They were quiet after that. Sophia packed her bags. She was going to leave and go with him. She couldn't watch her mom and not think of being the shell of the woman she could be. The shell of the woman she seen in her eyes when she actually let her guard down around her dad. The woman she heard about in the stories from Merle or dad. Or any time she could get her mom to talk. The woman she seen in old photos. It hurt. It hurt to think she was letting this happen to herself. Daryl was there. Sure he was angry but he'd stopped fighting with her months ago. He was nice even and her mom threw it in his face so often.

A knock at the door jarred her mom from her thoughts. Carol looked at her and seen a bag packed. Sophia hadn't realized how much time passed either. A look at the clock told her that her dad must have been closer than she thought when she'd called.

When Carol opened the door he was standing there with a worried look. He looked passed her and his eyes landed on Sophia. Her eyes watered. Carol stepped aside for him and the second he crossed the threshold Sophia sprinted for him. She slammed into him roughly. HE grunted but his arms went around her.

"What happened" Daryl questioned. Her mom made a noise in her throat. "She said she wanted to spend the weekend with you?"

"She got upset about Tessa...we fought." Carol's voice cracked.

"Did she say something to you?" Daryl questioned heatedly.

Sophia shook her head against his chest. "Can we go home?"

"Sophia." Carol interrupted.

"Hey, hey look at me." Daryl demanded.

Sophia looked up at him blinking. Her mom was by him now. They were shoulder to shoulder looking at her. Sophia almost smiled.

"Did Tessa say something to you?"

Sophia grimaced. "I don't think she liked me or mom for that matter."

"Fuck her." Daryl snarled. "It's me and you kid, you know that."

Sophia watched her mom's eyes shoot to him. Something flickered there and Sophia felt that same triumphant bubble as before. Daryl pushed her hair back and he looked over at her mom.

"She can go." Carol sighed.

Sophia excused herself. She could hear her mom talking quietly. Her dad's rougher voice was a little louder but nothing to be worried about. She couldn't make out what was being said. She edged closer.

"She hates me." Her mom's voice was distressed.,

"No she doesn't." Daryl snorted.

"You didn't hear her Daryl. She worships you."

Daryl eyed her., "She never shuts up about you." He challenged. "You're gonna fight Carol. You and your mom done the same shit."

Carol chuckled then. "Yeah well...she has your temper."

Her dad said nothing but she could see him leaned against the wall waiting on her. He'd only been here three times. It was strange seeing him here. Sophia much preferred his house. Her mom hated it here even.

She breezed back in the room. "Dad don't you think this house sucks?"

His eyes widened and he said nothing. Her mom glared at her. "Sophia we've been over this."

"And I still maintain this place sucks. I hate it here. We're too far from dad and you're just being stubborn. You got this place when you all were fighting and you picked it because it was so far from him."

Daryl's head swiveled towards her mom. "Is that true?"

She rubbed her face before blowing out a breath. "Don't act surprised."

"Fuck." He muttered.

It was the most she'd heard them talk in forever.

"Carol this place does fucking suck." His voice was amused.

She looked around and grimaced. Sophia took the chance. "I broke the shower earlier."

"What?" Carol sputtered. "What did you do?"

"I don't know. It just….kinda broke."

Carol stared at her. Daryl was fighting smiling. She was clumsy and broke stuff at his house all the time. He never complained. He'd just fix it. He winked at her and Sophia beamed.

"If this place didn't suck...mom, then it wouldn't be an issue." Sophia beamed.

Carol threw her hands in the air. "Sophia I can't just start looking for a place right now."

"Why not? The lease comes up in a few weeks." She argued.

Carol huffed. "It's not that easy. IT takes time to find a place. I can't just let the lease go in case I don't find a place."

Sophia crossed her arms over her chest after thrusting her bag at her dad. "Well it's not like you'd have to worry if the lease did go and it took a little longer to find something."

Carol raised a brow. "Have everything figured out don't you? Then enlighten me."

"Dad has extra rooms. You've stayed there before when you first left Ed."

Daryl said nothing. Sophia knew he wouldn't refuse. She already asked about this. She'd been sly about it and didn't ask in these terms. More of if an emergency happened would they have a place to stay. HE'd assured her his door was always open. Now she was calling him on it. He raised a brow mirroring her mom and she grinned at him. Like Merle indeed. His brows shot up at the look. His lip twitched before he looked down but she seen it. He smirked. He knew what she was upto even if her mother didn't.

Carol's face was red., "I'm sorry Daryl. Ignored her, she's been acting out all day."

He snorted at that but was looking at Sophia again. His eyes danced with amusement. "No worries Carol."

"Let's go." Sophia chirped.

Daryl held the door for her and Carol hugged her. Sophia clung to her. When she let go her mom caught his arm. Sophia missed what she said but he nodded.

"Sorry you can't take a shower mom." Sophia didn't sound sorry at all. In fact she'd broke it on purpose just for this reason. "Besides I'm sure dad wouldn't mind you showering there. What was it Merle said earlier dad? That a wet woman was a happy woman?"

Daryl's face reddened violently. He coughed and her mom's jaw dropped., "Yeah well don't repeat shit he says."

He shoved her out the door. Sophia looked back at her mom and seen her watching them. Her eyes were bright and she seemed lighter than before. That brooding air wa there still but not near as bad. Daryl done that. Just a few minutes around him and that tension was gone., She looked at him though and he seemed flustered. Her mom seemed to notice too because she started laughing., He glared at her and Sophia's eyes widened when he flipped her off.

Her mom's barking laughter echoed towards them. It was amazing to hear. This was what she wanted. She didn't get why it happened. Merle maybe? She missed some inside joke apparently. Climbing into the vehicle she waved good bye.

"I thought you were dead set on being with your mom this weekend?" Daryl questioned.

Sophia looked over at him. "I missed you."

Despite himself he smiled at her and Sophia grinned. "You've been with me for a week Sophia."

"Yeah well if she didn't move out here to this hell hole then it wouldn't be an issue."

He sighed, "You asked that shit a month ago. How long you been scheming?"

Sophia drummed her fingers against the door. "I don't know what you mean."

He stared at her but said nothing. The ride was silent for a few minutes. When she looked over he was relaxed against his seat.

"Hypothetically if someone were to scheme as you said...would you be open to it?" Sophia questioned innocently.

He looked over at her but his eyes were blocked by his sunglasses. He chuckled. The sound familiar, deep, and like home. He took the exit to their house and she smiled. Neverland was home. She just wished her mom would make up her mind. She'd already made hers up.

"Hypothetically? I've always have been." He said as he parked..


	7. Chapter 7

**One more chapter :D**

It wasn't long before her mother showed up. Sophia answered the door and kept her smug smile from her face. For the most part her dad was silent and didn't say much on the ride home. Sophia was honest with him from the start that she wanted them together. He'd never told her there wasn't a chance and Sophia took that as he wanted it too. So made it her mission to get them back together.

Sophia met her mom's eyes and smiled. She opened the door wider to let her in the same time her dad raised himself up off the couch look over. His eyes widened when he seen her mom. Carol's face reddened. He didn't say anything about her sudden appearance but just sprawled back out.

Sophia moved back to her nest of pillows on the floor. There was plenty of room on the couches but she found she preferred the nest to the couches when they were watching movies. Her mom followed her.

"What are you watching?"

Sophia beamed up at her and shoved her mom onto the couch with her dad and shushed her. "Have you ever watched The Notebook?"

Sophia didn't miss her dad's grimace. He'd been adamant against watching it but Sophia won. She always did when it came to picking a movie. Her mother laughed though and the look she gave Daryl had her brow raising. Her dad glared at her mom but a smile showed a few minutes later. Before long she could hear her dad's slow even breaths and knew he was asleep.

"You forced him to watch the notebook?" Carol laughed.

Sophia smiled and nodded. "It's funny to watch his face. You should have seen him when I made him watch the Titanic."

Carol snorted and Sophia felt her heart constrict. It was the first time they'd spent any time together that wasn't forced and awkward. It took her mom getting jealous but that didn't matter. She knew that her dad wasn't really seeing anyone but there was no harm in letting her mom think that it was an option. She didn't exaggerate when she cried because it was the truth. If he ended up with anyone else or her mom did it would destroy her.

Sophia didn't remember falling asleep but she blinks awake when she feels herself being picked up. Her mom's voice is quiet off to the the right and Sophia relaxes. She knows it's her dad and lets her weight rest more on him. The walk to her room is quiet and she waits to see if they'll say anything in front of her.

"She was really upset earlier."

Her dad grunts and Sophia fights smiling.

"Did she say anything when you left?"

"Just that she didn't want to fight with you."

The sight that leaves her mom almost has her ready to speak. They leave after that but Sophia can hear her mom talking. She's not surprised she's talking now. She wouldn't have showed up if she didn't want to. If there is one thing she knows it's that her dad isn't a talker but that he'll listen. He'll listen and he responds when he thinks it's needed. It's not one for big speeches but she knows he's got a few things to say to her mom.

It is a shock when she wakes up in the morning to find them both passed out on the couch. Her dad is half covered but it's her mom that has her eyes wide. She's sprawled over him and wrapped around him like a vine. It looks to natural to be something that's never happened before. It makes her throat tighten and she stares for a second because this all she ever wanted.

They're both sleeping soundly and Sophia slinks back down the hall. She shuts her door and smiles triumphantly. She isn't sur what time they fell asleep or her for that matter. All that matters is that she knows they've talked. Otherwise it'd make no sense for the ease with which both relaxed enough to fall asleep. Now she's got the burning question of did they way they fell asleep happen intentionally or by accident. Sophia decides it was on purpose.

It's a bit later that a knock at the front door has her barrelling out of her room. It's Merle and he's got breakfast. Also something she's got use to. He smiles at her but Sophia shushes him before he can speak. He eyes her but does as she commands. When they get to the kitchen she knows he's seen her mom asleep with her dad. He's scowling but looks resigned to it. He glares at her and Sophia gives him a smug look.

He made a mistake betting against her. He didn't think they'd get past their history. He'd warned her against getting her hopes up but Sophia ignored it. She knew her mom still loved him and her dad was no better. They were two people who never moved on and stuck pining for the other. Sophia refused to believe they couldn't get passed it. Besides if they could deal with the issue of him never knowing he had a kid until a short while ago then they could get over the rest. They had too.

"Wipe that goofy ass smile off your face." Merle snapped.

Sophia only smiled wider. "Oh shut up."

"What the fuck did you do to even get her here?"

Sophia just shrugged and started digging into the food. It wasn't long before the smell woke up Daryl. When he raised up, which was a struggle with her mom's weight on his chest, he looked over to the kitchen. He rubbed at his face and untangle himself from Carol. He padded into the kitchen looking half dead and more than a little starved.

"What the fuck was that?" Merle questioned.

Daryl took a big bite of a biscuit and shrugged. Merle scowled over at the couch. Her mom and Merle didn't fight as bad but then her dad told her it'd been the same when they were younger. Merle didn't like any woman that talked back. Carol didn't like any man who thought he was better than her or above any woman. She often called Merle a sexist pig. Sophia didn't disagree but she adored him regardless.

"Why are you here so early?" Daryl yawned.

Merle scowled. "Did you forget we were supposed to be going hunting?"

Daryl shook his head. "I can't."

"I see that now." Merle snapped but without any real anger.

They ate in silence for the most part. After a short time her mom woke up. Her face flushed when she seen Merle and Sophia awake. Her dad was on the counter drinking coffee to wake up and looked nonplussed. Sophia watched her quietly and the way she acted around her dad. The tension was gone. No, not gone but different. No longer angry but still just as smothering. It made her uncomfortable all the same. She thought it'd be better! She huffed and glared at the table top.

Merle nudged her and she looked at him. He raised a brow and her eyes went to her mom who was pointedly not looking at her dad. Her dad who didn't seem to have the same issues. He wasn't bothered to be found sleeping with her apparently. Merle seemed to understand immediately. He stood and motioned her with him.

"Where are you going?" Daryl's voice was rough with sleep still.

Merle eyed him the same way he often did Sophia. Sophia watched as a silent conversation was held. Her mother's shoulders tensed up. No one seemed to miss the conversation that was rude to not be spoken out loud. Sophia scowled and Merle told her to get dressed and ready to go. She done as he asked and hoped that whatever was wrong they could work out while she was gone.

Merle chuckled at her affronted look as they walked to his bike. "You think your mom will throw a fit if we take my bike?"

"I think she's already throwing a fit in there so does it matter?"

Merle stared at her and looked amused. "You think they're fighting?"

Sophia rubbed at her face and pushed her hand through her hair. "Yes. What the hell else would they be doing! IT's all they ever seem to do."

Merle smiled suddenly. "They aren't fighting. I've seen them fighting and _that_ isn't them about to fight."

There was something about the way he said _that_ that had her raising a brow. Did she miss something? No, the tension was there. It wasn't the violent tempest of their anger but still. It was cloying and smothering. Merle was blind if he didn't see it. Still something about the way he'd spoken made her feel like she was missing something.

"Horseshit."

"You know you've got a terrible little mouth on you. Just like your damn dad." Merle chuckled and held a helmet out to her. "Besides I was there when they were dating and they fought just as bad then. They made up just as..." He cut himself off and shot a look at the house. "Nevermind that let's go."

Sophia pursed her lips but said nothing else. The ride was silent and she reveled in it. She'd rode with her dad before but her mom was furious. She still did at times but never with Merle. Apparently her mom thought Merle would wreck her. Sophia didn't think he ever would. He was to careful with her. For the most part the day went by fast. Sophia was anxious to get back to the house and make sure her parents weren't at each other's throats. It'd be a waste of time she'd put in if they blew up on each other again.

The ride back was slow as the sun set. Merle kept her out all day. And while any other time she wouldn't have minded but her mind kept going back to finding them asleep together. Her chest burned with hope and she'd smiled all day even if they did fight. There was hope no matter what.


	8. End

**Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

Sophia laughed loudly watching Merle swipe milk from his face. Merle shot her an annoyed look before silencing her. Sophia's eyes shot to the stairs. There was a collective silence as everyone held their breath. When there was no sounds of movement everyone relaxed.

"Come get your brother before he throws the rest of his drink in my face." Merle scowled.

Sophia chuckled and scooped up her little brother. She didn't mind watching him since her mom and dad were both finally sleeping. Logan was two years old and after William was born just short of two weeks ago it seemed neither of her parents ever slept. Of course her and Merle were there to help but William wasn't easy to soothe. Logan was needy and wanted everyone's attention at once.

Logan beamed at her and she laughed again. When she made it to the living room she could hear Merle grumbling about spilled milk.

"No point in crying over spilled milk." Sophia laughed.

"You know sometimes I hate you." Merle snapped.

"Sure you do." Sophia laid back on the couch.

Logan crawled up her body and laid right on her chest. This was purely her dad's fault. Any time you found Daryl laying down it was a sure bet that Logan would be asleep on his chest. More than a few pictures were taken of them both asleep like this.

"You think they'll wake up soon?" Sophia questioned as she pushed Logan's blonde hair from his face.

He grinned up at her. It shocked her sometimes how much he already looked like their dad. His eyes were standout against his pale complexion. Shocking even. He had the same mole that Daryl had and the same cow lick Merle had. There was a slight curl to his hair that she knew came from her mom. If someone was to ask her who her favorite person in this world was – it was her baby brother hands down.

"Don't you have a life?" Merle questioned looking over the couch at her. "You're seventeen. Do something besides fawning over your brother."

"Fuck you." Sophia snapped. "Says the man who still fawns over his baby brother."

"Yeah well you're an asshole just like him." Merle laughed.

A cry from upstairs had their eyes shooting to the stairs. To say the road to where they were now was easy was far from the truth. That day she'd tricked her mom into coming here helped. They fought sure but she never did ask what was said. At times she wanted to but kept her mouth shut. After that more and more often her mom was at her dad's. Until she was just there. They both were. It was a relief to see how happy her mother was when she was fighting for her life. Ed didn't take the news well and Sophia felt a distinct glee at his misery.

It ate Ed up that her mother had three kids with Daryl Dixon. Her mom couldn't go anywhere without someone stopping her to tell her how adorable her son was or how beautiful Sophia herself was. Merle found it hilarious and Daryl hated it. He hated being stopped or anyone reaching towards his kids. He'd threatened to kill a boy just the other day for hugging her when he picked her up from school.

"Well I guess they're awake now." Merle frowned.

"How long did that last?"

"An hour?" Merle questioned.

Sophia sighed but both looked over when her dad appeared. He was rubbing his face and carrying William. He shushed them and looked towards the stairs. Logan started thrashing once he seen Daryl. He smirked seeing Logan struggling in her grip. At just seventeen Sophia stood to just under Daryl's chin.

Merle shot a look upstairs and met his brothers eyes. "She still sleeping?"

Daryl nodded as William whined quietly in his arms. Sophia pursed her lips and tightened her grip on Logan. Daryl shot a look at the two of them before going back to leaning against the counter. William started blink drowsily at them before his head leaned into the crook of Daryl's neck. Sophia and her mom both never understood how he could get a kid to fall asleep so fast.

"Barely." Daryl yawned and blinked much the way William was. "How long did I make it?"

"Hour tops." Merle frowned. "If you don't sleep you're going to pass out from exhaustion."

Daryl snorted but said nothing. He nudged Sophia as he passed by. Following closely after him she watched him sprawl over the couch. William nestling straight into him. Logan wasn't far behind him. His little hand latching onto William's. Sophia smiled and crawled onto the foot of the couch. When she looked over all three of them were already asleep. Sophia lifted Daryl's feet much to his annoyance, even though he didn't wake, and settled in.

If you'd told her all those years ago that she'd find safety in the rain soaked woods then she would have called you a liar. Neverland wasn't a fairytale but at the same time it was her story. She grew up but she was safe, loved, and had her family now. She didn't need Peter Pan to save her from the disaster that was her life. Instead her Neverland gave her a life. It gave her a dad, brothers, Merle, and her mother back. Sure they fought. But didn't everyone? She didn't need to worry about bruises on her mom. Or worry that her dad was looking at her in a way that meant something lecherous and disgusting. At night when she went to sleep it was the warm feeling of family. It was hope and of a bright future. Neverland wasn't for everyone but it was her home.


End file.
